Staffing Industry Analysts (05/02/23)

US job openings in March were at their lowest level since April 2021, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of layoffs and discharges ticked upward as well.

Job openings fell by 384,000 in March from February to approximately 9.6 million.

“Demand for labor is cooling, and the dynamics of the labor market are normalizing,” Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNN. “After two years of incredibly rapid churn and highly elevated demand, things are now all going back to normal levels and rates.”

The number and rate of quits, which are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee, fell by 129,000 to approximately 4.0 million.

However, the number and rate of layoffs and discharges increased in March by 248,000 from the previous month to a total of more than 1.8 million.

Meanwhile, the number of hires was little changed at 6.1 million.

This article originally appeared on staffingindustry.com. Use this link to see the full article: US JOB OPENINGS FALL IN MARCH TO LOWEST LEVEL IN NEARLY TWO YEARS